Best Local Newscast, Best Sports Show, Best Human Interest Feature Story were just some of the awards WAER's news and sports staff members were honored with Saturday Night at the Syracuse Press Club'sannual awards banquet. The yearly awards honor the best in broadcast, print and online journalism over a broad area in Central New York.
The awards were for material broadcast in the 2012 calendar year:
- Best Spot News: 2nd place, "Syracuse Drone Protests" by Jim Levulis
- Best Human Interest Feature: 1st place, "Dick Clark started in Syracuse" by John Smith
- Best Sports Story: 1st place, "How Sandy Hit SU Football" by John Nolan
- Best Sports Story: 2nd place, "What it takes to be a Football Player" by Chet Davis
- Best Sports Show: 1st place, "Pinstripe Bowl Countdown to Kickoff" by Chris Lewis, Gabe Altieri; Bill Spaulding, Andrew Kanell
- Best Sports Show: 2nd place, "Sportsnight's NHL Lockout" by Eric Duick and James Gloria
- Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast: 1st place, "WAER Newscast 12/12/12" by John Smith and Scott Willis
WAER STUDENTS ALSO HONORED
While Afternoon Host/Anchor Jim Levulis, an SU senior, won a professional award for his reporting, several students whose work aired on WAER were also honored. Outgoing Sports Director Bill Spaulding took the first honor in the student Sports Story category with his piece, "SU Football Travels to Fort Drum." Chet Davis took second in the same category with "Tewaarton", a story about the top honor for an individual in college lacrosse. Marina Zarya, who has worked in WAER's news department and also as an announcer for Real College Radio, won second place for her feature on the Syracuse Community Choir.
These awards for our young, developing broadcasters, whether in the student or professional categories, validate the work the professional staff does each and every week as part of our training mission. These stories were excellent work for our audience to enjoy as well.
A full list of all the Syracuse Press Club winners can be found here: SPC Winners